Perth Airport rejects Qantas fee accusations in legal dispute

Bitter legal row erupts between Perth Airport and Qantas

The West Australian

VideoPerth Airport is suing Qantas, claiming the national carrier owes it more than $11 million

Perth Airport has rejected claims its legal case against Qantas has ruined the economics of the airline’s proposed direct Perth-Paris service, saying airport charges amount to about one per cent of an economy class ticket.

Qantas boss Alan Joyce this week upped the ante in the carrier’s dispute with Perth Airport, saying the legal action brought by the airport was holding up plans for a non-stop service between Perth and Paris.

But the operator of the airport said its fees amounted to just $15 per passenger on a one-way Qantas flight, when the airline charged customers on the Perth-London route an average $1800 return.

The airport is suing Qantas in the Supreme Court, alleging the airline has underpaid it by about 40 per cent for access to the airfield and terminal facilities.

It is believed the debt allegedly owed by Qantas has grown from $11.5 million to about $20 million since the time Perth Airport lodged its statement of claim late last year.

In Perth on Tuesday, Mr Joyce cited the uncertainty created by the legal action to argue Qantas was hesitant to invest in the new long-haul planes needed to service extra European routes from Perth.

But Perth Airport has hit back to the claims, saying its charges comprised a tiny fraction of the cost of a typical economy class airfare and would be immaterial to the business case of a Perth-Paris service.

The operator also pointed out that Qantas was free to add non-stop services to Paris and Frankfurt under a deal signed in 2016 allowing terminal three to be used for international travel.

A spokesman said the airport noted Mr Joyce had described the Perth-London service as one of the most successful in Qantas’ history and said the France market would attract similar “premium” passengers.

“The discrepancy between Perth Airport’s proposed reduced airport charge and what Qantas has chosen to pay is small in the context of an airfare,” the spokesman said.

“The claims that the airport charges dispute is standing in the way of this new service simply do not stand up to scrutiny.”

Central to the row is a push by Qantas to have an independent umpire appointed when airlines and airports cannot agree on pricing arrangements.

However, the Productivity Commission dismissed the idea in a report earlier this year, saying it would have a “chilling effect” on investments in airports.

Andrew McGinnes, Qantas’ corporate affairs manager, said the airport’s unwillingness to charge “fair and reasonable” fees was to blame for the dispute, along with its refusal to allow the airline to run a service from Johannesburg through T3.

Mr McGinnes said the airport’s approach was putting at risk “hundreds of millions of dollars in new aircraft” and Qantas’ plans to expand its Perth hub.

“Imagine your biggest supplier, which Perth Airport is for Qantas in WA, decided to take you to court because you can’t reach an agreement,” Mr McGinnes said.

“It wouldn’t give you the confidence to double down on your investment with them.